


Eliksni Guardian: Rat of Garbage

by Normal_Ghost



Category: Destiny (Video Game), Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Crack Crossover, Crossover, Destiny, Destiny 1, Destiny/Overwatch Crossover, Eliksni, Fallen Guardian, Fallen Junkrat, Gen, Junkertown Queen, Overwatch AU, Post-Fall of Overwatch, destiny au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-18 03:12:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12379713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Normal_Ghost/pseuds/Normal_Ghost
Summary: A Destiny/Overwatch crossover ficA Ghost is shocked to find out that the Guardian that it's been assigned is not only not an Earthling, but a Fallen. Not just any Fallen, oh no, but a houseless fallen with a--proficiency--for explosives.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I lied. This is never getting finished; I've stopped being into Destiny AND Overwatch. On the plus side, I don't really think anyone was on the edge of their seat for this anyways. If people want me to keep working on it, feel free to let me know, otherwise--it's abandoned.

The Ghost was ecstatic, it could feel the travelers pull towards a body. This was finally it, today was the birth of a new Guardian. _It’s_ Guardian. After all these years, it was finally time to resurrect the soul of an integral part of spreading Light across the universe, time to find it’s other half--it was time to fulfil its entire purpose.

The Ghost started the resurrection sequence. The body was incredibly mangled, but the Traveler was a miracle worker, and the soul was still in tact. Focusing, Ghost could begin reading the Guardian’s personality.

“Wow, an incredibly strong Hunter reading,” Ghost said excitedly to themself, “I don’t think I’ve ever found a Guardian that was so secure into their class.” The body continued to come together, but Ghost wasn’t paying any attention. It would be impossible to tell their personality before the Guardian was fully revived, but they could tell _who_ they would be.

“It seems--my, a Nightstalker! How exciting!” Ghost hummed to themselves, it’s body whirling with light. It set its eye back onto its Guardian and--

Wait a minute.

There’s no way that this is correct. This isn’t correct.

Below the Ghost, was a very long, lanky, four-armed body. It’s rhomboid head was filled with four eyes and razor teeth. This wasn’t a human, awoken, exo--this isn’t even an earthling. This was a Fallen Vandal.

By the Traveler, this Fallen Vandal is waking up. The Ghost scrambled to give its Guardian armor before he woke up, but was only able to construct leg armor before he jolted up.

“Hooley dooley--rise and shine!,” the Guardian said groggily in Fallen-speak, holding it’s head, “Aaah, well, what’s this? A little ball of scrap--”

“Ahem. Hello--Guardian--you don’t know how long I’ve been looking for you--”

“For me?” the Vandal teased.

“--Yes,” Ghost started again, “I am a Ghost. Actually, now I’m _your_ Ghost. And you--well you’ve been dead for a long time. I guess not as long as some of the other Guardians--regardless--you’re going to see a lot of things you won’t understand.”

“Well I don’t know about that, mate,” The Vandal said, getting his balance, “You’re one of those annoying little balls of scrap that the Lifters have floating around their heads.”

“Lift-ers?” Ghost asked.

“Yeh, the Lifters. The Thieves? Oh, what do you bastards call yourselves--the earth ones!”

“Earthlings?” Ghost offered.

“Yeah, yeah the ones from, er--this planet! We’re on Earth, right now, yeah?”

“Yes...” Ghost really didn’t think that this Fallen understood what kind of position he was in. This--alien--is one of the most important _things_ in the universe. He was dead less than an hour ago! He--he’s trying to take them apart right now.

“Excuse me,” Ghost said, exceptionally unimpressed, “Please do not try to take apart my chassis. I am held together by light, not by magnets like your servators.”

“‘Held together by light’. ‘Held together by light’ my arm--what’s that even supposed to mean? Ain’t no light in here, just--bits of metal, just like everythin’ else,” the Vandal said, struggling against the strength of the Ghost.

“Guardian, please...” Ghost asked, exasperated.

“Guard-i-an,” the Vandal mulled over, loosening his grip on his ghost, “Now why do you keep calling me that? Matta of fact, why are you still hangin’ around me? You a spy or something? HhhhhHHGG! You a scout? Is your Lifter here tryin’ to snipe me?!” He dropped to the ground and scuttled behind a rusted car, eyes darting across the open horizon.

“No--goodness you don’t listen--look, _you_ are my Lifter--Guardian! You are my Guardian!” Ghost spat out, “This is kind of a new experience for me too. Regardless! You are my Guardian, I am your Ghost, and we need to get you to to the Tower. Oh boy, the tower...”

“So you--belong to me?” the Hunter asked.

“Sort of. I kind of _am you_ , see, I’m your Ghost--” Ghost started.

“And I, am a ‘Guardian’? I’m the same as those Lifters that don’t die?” he asked again.

“Yes. Good--at least you know what the Guardians are...” Ghost sighed.

“So does that mean that I don’t die anymore?” he asked.

“Well, there’s more to being a Guardian than that. You are a Hunter, Guardian: a class that specializes in agility--”

“Gua-di-an, bleh, still don’t like the sound of that. What have you Lifters really ‘guarded’ anyways?” he asked with a scrunched-up face.

“Well, I’m glad you asked,” the Ghost started smugly, “Guardians wage a vicious armed conflict against a myriad of extraterrestrial species who pose--um--an immediate threat to the survival of humanity--”

“‘Myriad of extraterrestrial species that pose a threat to humanity’, guessin’ I’m not really included in the 'protected' side, eh?” he said, bitterly.

“Well, until now there hasn’t ever _been_ a guardian that wasn’t _a part_ of humanity. Not that you’re not a part of humanity, just not--”

“Not a Lifter.”

“Right. Well, now that you are apart of us, Guardian, I’m sure you’ll be--ahem--eagerly welcomed into the Vanguard--”

“Look, ‘till I feel much like a ‘Guardian’, don’t call me Guardian, yeah? I’ve got a name, y’know.”

“Oh, of course Gua--Hunter. What would you like me to call you? What was your designation among your house?”

“Heh, well,” he started nervously, “What they called me was Jmasen, Rat of Garbage.”

“I assume just ‘Jmasen’ will be alright?” Ghost offered.

“Aces.”

“Perfect,” the Ghost sighed, “Will you come out of the car now?”

“Sure,” Jmasen chuckled nervously, still scanning the area before scuttling out of the car.

“Well, we need to get back to the Tower to speak to, well, to speak to the head of the Vanguard as soon as possible,” Ghost started, pacing in the air while they talked, “I think if we can radio Holiday before we arrive at the City, we may be able to transmat in a more secluded location, and we can talk to the higher ups in peace, before all--this--gets around, it might be a relatively peaceful integration! Right? Right.”

“Right,” Jmasen agreed, still not sure what was happening.

“This could be a good thing!” Ghost started again, “A whole new era of Fallen/Humanity relations! All you need to do is borrow a Ketch, or some smaller ship, then we’ll be off. I have the coordinates pre-programed already, so you just need to get the ship, then sit back and relax. This’ll all be straightened out in no time!”

“Right, gettin’, gettin’ a ship,” Jmasen started.

“You can get us a ship, right? I can hide if you think they’d be suspicious of me,” Ghost offered.

“No, no you’re not the problem, mate, just--you _did_ hear my title, right? Did you see any house sigils on me? I’m not real chummy with any of the Captains right now. 'Fact if I remember correctly, I was just running away from a group that was tryna kill me a minute ago--”

“I believe that they did succeed in killing you,” Ghost said, “I had to resurrect you from the dead; your body was in pretty rough shape.”

“Well that’s a fine how do you do...” he mumbled.

“No--no problem. I’ll start scanning now," they said, shooting a beam of light towards the gigantic, Russian wall ahead of them, "Look! There’s an abandoned ship just on the other side of the wall. We’ll just rush in there before the other Fallen realize that you’re--alive--and it’ll be fine. It’ll be fine!”

“‘Other Fallen?’” Jmasen asked incredulously, “You mean other Eliksni?”

“Er--correct,” Ghost replied sheepishly, “Well, you do call us Lifters...”

“You saying you hoons don’t steal every chest we hide that we don’t bolt down?” he posed, unimpressed.

“Well--” they started.

“Or how you all _STOLE_ the Traveler from us?” he asked more accusatorially.

“Look, the Traveler chose us, sorry,” Ghost apologized.

“Likely story, scrap ball.”

“You ready to break in?” they asked tiredly.

“Su--wait a minute! Where’s me other leg?” he asked.

“Y--Excuse me Guardian? Er, Jmasen? I can assure you my resurrection sequence can undo any injuries sustained at any point in your lifetime.”

“Did a bang-up job then,” he joked, lifting up a stump leg to show his Ghost.

“I--impossible! This has never happened before! Perhaps with Fallen, er, Eliksni biology, something terrible happened--what if I can’t revive you properly if something happens? What--”

“Calm down, mate. Was born without it, it’s prolly fine. Also never had me lower right arm but looks like that prosthetic made it,” he said, wiggling a mechanical arm playfully, "Nice to have the other two back, though, that's for sure."

“Well that’s it then,” Ghost said somberly, “If you wait here, I might be able to get to a place where I can broadcast a stronger signal. There’s a small chance that--”

“Nope! Ready to go!” Jmasen said cheerfully, hopping around on two legs.

“Wait a minute, how did you--”

“Just made one,” he said matter-of-factly.

“You--just made a leg?” Ghost asked, flatly.

“Yup!” he smiled, shifting his weight to test it out. The bottom of his right leg was supported by a rudimentary spring peg.

“And that’ll get you to the wall?”

“That’ll get me to your Tower, mate” Jmasen assured, already scuttling ahead, “Now let’s get that ship.”


	2. Chapter 2

To say that it was an awkward walk would be an understatement. Both parties were struggling to think of a way to relate the other and failing miserably--at the very least, however, the path to the wall was relatively peaceful. As the pair stepped inside, Ghost seemed to be struggling with something around Jmasen.

“You doing alright there, mate?” he finally asked, a little perturbed by the machine fluttering around him.

“I’m alright, but I’m a little worried about you. I was wondering why I only was able to create basic leg armor for you, but I realize now that it’s because my systems aren’t used to F--Eliksni--biology. Anything that I have is made for a thinner head or for a chest with only two arms coming out of the sides.

“Bah, armor’s overrated,” he shrugged confidentiality.

“I think I can say with certainty that it is not,” Ghost replied, concerned, “Wait a minute--we definitely need to get you a weapon.”

“Weapon weapon--aha! Why didn’t I think of this before! I’ve got a whole stash hidden somewhere back here! Well, I used to, hopefully there’s something left...”

“You’re worried you may have been looted?”

“Oh someone’s definitely tried, I’m just hoping there’s enough left after my security system’s kicked in.”

“Your--security system?” Ghost asked, and Jmasen just looked back at them excitedly before scrambling into a crack in the wall. The Ghost gave a quick confused sigh before following after him.

It was a strange, dark crawl through the destroyed wall, but Ghost was able to stay close by retreating into his Guardian's chest. If they weren’t able to track Jmasen’s position, they would have sworn he was lost, but he continued in a relatively straight line towards an unknown destination.

After a bit, though, they reached a collapsing cavity in the concrete fortress. Jmasen clambered from the roof down the creaking beams. On the wall, Ghost recognized several Hunter symbols for “Extreme danger: do not attempt” written by various Guardians. It seems as though many had tried, but they had all met the same fate--humility.

“Are you sure that this area is--structurally sound?” Ghost asked, ready to resurrect.

“Sure,” he replied confidently, “Places been like this since I found it--she’ll hold.” Ghost wasn’t quite as confident in Jmasen's logic as he was, but for now, the pair seemed safe. Just in case, Ghost was still ready for resurrection at any time. Continuing on, they found a Captain’s skeleton trapped in a crude claw trap on the floor. Looking carefully, Ghost could see scratch marks and gnawing around the leg’s bone, but the trap itself looked almost untouched. Even though it was a simple looking device, it was obviously strong. Strong enough that this Captain saw going through his leg a more viable option than trying to break the trap.

“Heh, knew you couldn’t stay away, ya drongo,” Jmasen said, spitting on the corpse before continuing to hobble down the cave.

“Did you make this?” Ghost asked, scanning the apparatus. Jmasen stopped in his tracks and ran back.

“Yeah! Have dozens of these babies laying around. Why, you like ‘em?”

“They are certainly more complex than one would guess just by looking at them,” Ghost started, “And even though they’re completely made out of scrap, they seem to be exceptionally sturdy.”

“Consider myself a tinkerer,” he said with a wink, hitting something on the side, releasing the trap, “I mostly focus in a--certain flavor--of weaponry, but I do enjoy the mechanical as well.” He kicked the skeleton out before tucking the trap under his arm.

“I can hold that for you if you’d like,” Ghost offered, already deconstructing the device into light.

“I uh--thanks, mate,” Jmasen said before continuing, “Now up ahead you might wanna keep close to me. Got lot more of these on the ground and _way_ more surprises up in the air, hahaha!” He giggled excitedly as he shimmied down the wall. Ghost sighed, went invisible, then hid in its Guardian’s chest.

“Exactly what kind of surprises are we talking about?” they asked as the pair rounded the corner. However, once they got there, Ghost didn’t have any more questions about what kind of traps Jmasen had set up. There were craters everywhere--bits of Fallen corpses littered the cavern, and there was even a few sections of hive exoskeleton in one corner.

“What on earth do you have hidden here?” Ghost asked, flying out of Jmasen’s chest to investigate. The Hunter let out a quick yelp and strongly grabbed onto Ghost, attempting to pull them closer. At first Ghost was annoyed--there’s nothing more humiliating than someone who’s supposed to be your equal wrapping their grubby hands around you and trying to move you. However, they could also feel a heat signature they didn’t detect before; a heat signature tied to an extremely powerful trip-mine explosive mere centimeters away from it's eye.

“My--goodness,” Ghost stammered, allowing himself to be pulled back. The two chuckled nervously as they continued scooting down the wall. After a few jumps, flips and a bit of tip-toeing, Jmasen gave the thumbs up for his Ghost to come out again.

“My apologies, about earlier--” Ghost started.

“Don’t sweat it, mate. No one ever believes me when I say to stay close. That’s how I get ‘em though--people underestimate me. They underestimate my abilities, and they think they can see _all_ the tripmines, but _no! You don't get all of them, ya dipsticks! Hahahahahaaa!_ ” This Vandal was crazy, but he seemed like just the right kind of crazy. Hopefully.

“So do you mostly have weapons stashed here?” Ghost asked, looking through the debris.

“Well I _did_ ,” Jmasen grumbled, kicking a singed corner of a chest, “I may have made a _few_ miscalculations on some of the boomers, so I lost the fancy stuff. However! The real treasure should still be here.” He seemed extremely pleased with himself as he ran to a very normal looking wall. After grabbing four unarmed mines, Jmasen secured them to specific points in the wall, then armed them to a remote detonator. With a click of a switch, the explosives thundered alive, and the wall came crumbling apart.

There was only one thing behind the false wall: a gigantic, unearthly, glowing servator.

“Too bad the explosion seems to have damaged it a bit,” Ghost said, shaking the dust off itself.

“What?” Jmasen asked, a little disappointed and more than a little offended, “Naw, he’s in great shape! Look at him, right as I left the old bastard. This--is the Road Hog.”

The Road Hog was an unusually massive servator, almost as tall as a Cabal from it’s base to its top, and floating strangely close to the ground. Sure, it wasn’t the largest Fallen machine that the Ghost had ever seen, but the way it hovered so close to the two of them made it exceedingly threatening. The entire apparatus looked as though it was rescued from several different destroyed machines, and had a crudely drawn pig head on the front of it, with the eye of the servator serving as the drawn creature's snout.

“I stole the core from the House of Boars--clever, right?” Jmasen giggled as he ran over to stroke the machine, “No way I’d be able to go houseless without a Servator, and he’s a beaut.”

“I was wondering how you were able to retain such a large size without a clan,” Ghost mused, scanning over the machine to better understand it.

“Sure, I’m resourceful enough to make it out here without no one else. Well, no one but Roadie. This big guy’s saved my rump more times than I can count.”

“It has combat capabilities?” Ghost asked.

“You bet your daks he does. Golly you buggers talk stiff--‘it has combat capabilities?’, this one’s got more than combat, it’s me partner!”

“Your--partner?”

“Yeah! My partner in crime! The Garbage Rat and the Road Hog: scourge of the Earth planet! He ain’t much for conversation, but he’s got quite the personality.”

“Personality? Are you telling me that this--informal--servator has sentience as well?” Ghost asked in disbelief. Guardians had theorized for a long time that many higher level Servitors had at least some form of artificial intelligence, but this one? Ghost could barely believe that it had the capabilities to stay together, much less have advanced programming.

“Wait a tick, weren’t we in here for weapons?” Jmasen remembered.

“Right,” the Ghost said, refocusing, “Did anything survive your security system?”

“Nooo,” he said, clicking his tongue, “But I can throw something together real quick--”

“You can ‘throw something together’?” Ghost asked flatly.

“Right! Why don’t you and the big lug get to know each other a bit more, I’ll be _right_ back.” With that, Jmasen skittered off grabbing bits and pieces of mangled weaponry on the way, leaving Ghost alone with the Road Hog. Ghost tried to stop him, but the Vandal was too fast, so instead it turned to look at the Servator. The scans of it didn’t make any sense; something this big shouldn't be functional, let alone floating and potentially lethal.

“Well you’re a, big guy, aren’t you?” Ghost said, mostly to itself. The Road Hog slowly turned to face them with its unblinking eye, and the Ghost just shuddered.

“Uh, Guardi--Jmason? How’s it going over there?” they called out, hoping to distract itself from their new apparent companion.

“Beautifully! You and Roadie getting along alright?” he yelled back from the other side of a large beam.

“I think we’re as close as we’re going to get,” Ghost said, cautiously floating away from the Servitor, “Anything I can help you with?”

“If you could pick up any mines and traps that didn’t go off, that’d be just swell,” Jmason said, struggling with whatever he was building, “I’m almost done here.” Ghost was happy to help, and began scanning the area for as many of the items that his Guardian had requested that he could find. A few minutes later, Jmason vaulted over the barrier and showed off his new weapon.

“Ta-da!” he beamed, holding the grenade launcher in front of him. The Ghost took a closer look at it: though it was obviously made out of garbage, it was mechanically immaculate, having a quick fire and an easy reload.

“Very impressive Jmasen,” Ghost congratulated genuinely.

“Ta!” he thanked back.

“Also I was able to get all the supplies that you asked for. You know, the designs are uniform enough that I may be able to create them out of light for you to use as an ability. You wouldn’t be limited by the number you could make or that I could hold, you’d only need to wait for me to refresh them before throwing out another.”

“No clue what that means, but sounds great! Let’s get going!” he said excitedly as he bounded towards the entrance, still careful to avoid the areas where the traps used to be, and the Servator slowly floated behind.

“By the Traveler,” Ghost said to themself, “What have I gotten into?”


	3. Chapter 3

Other than a small close call with one of the trip-mines that Ghost had evidently forgotten to pick up, getting out of the cavern was a cinch. The group was on their way--back on course for the crashed ship in the inner cosmodrome.

“Jmasen, do you mind if I ask you a few questions about--Eliksni--culture? Having you as a Guardian, well, at least as a Hunter, is an excellent opportunity for our species to get closer to one another,” Ghost offered.

“Yeah sure--shoot,” He replied, scratching a clump of dirt out of his horns.

“Is Lifters a common name for Earthlings?”

“Well, there is a more common one, a few actually, but those are a little less--respectful--if you know what I mean,” Jmasen smiled, “I figured my life may have been in your hands, so it was worth being a little more, ur, friendly? Yeah, friendly about the whole thing.”

“I see.”

“Why do you call our lot Fallen?” he asked back.

“Well, I suppose we see your species as having ‘fallen’ from the Traveler’s Light. No longer accepted by the one that made you whole, and stuck scavenging around the galaxies.”

“Hrmph, well it’s easy to ‘fall’ when a bunch of bogans steals the whole thing away from us,” he replied bitterly. Ghost sighed.

“Look, I’m sorry that you feel that way, Jmasen, but you’re going to have to face facts: the Traveler--”

“Quiet.” the Road Hog suddenly said in a low, rumbling voice beside them.

“Good heavens it talks,” Ghost said, shaking.

“Shh, you hear that?” Jmasen hushed, skittering to put his ear against a nearby wall, “Golly, sounds like at least a few dozen blokes coming up on the other side--”

“A _few dozen_? Why are there so many here? Is it a scouting party?” Ghost asked, scrambling to figure out what to do.

“Well this _was_ right next to the den of one of me old houses--hoo boy, they do not sound happy,” he chuckled.

“This is a _den_?!”

“Right next to a den, yeah.”

“We need to move. We’re almost to the ship--if we’re lucky I can get the ship running before they reach us.” The group scrambled forwards as fast as they could, when the wall in front of them blew out, leaving them in an intense cloud of dust.

“Well, surprise!” Jmasen joked before breaking out into a coughing fit.

“And it looks like our luck just ran out...” Ghost sighed, shining a light through the smoke to reveal the massive silhouette of a Kell.

 

“Well, well, well--what do we have here?” the Kell pondered aloud, “I am Jkertoun: Queen of the Forgotten. Identify yourselves and we _may_ leave you with some of your limbs.”

“We were--just passing through,” Ghost stammered, “We don’t want any trouble, we just need to get one thing, and we’ll be out of here forever.”

“Passing through? Well it looked to me as though you were ‘bout to be passing right through to my throne room.”

“Oh, so the throne room is still through there,” Jmasen mused, seemingly unfazed by the situation.

“ _Why did you not tell me this?!_ ” Ghost spat quietly at their hunter.

“Lots of ‘things’ in there that I’m sure you lot would love to get your hands on--” she started, scanning them more closely with delight, “Even someone resourceful enough to get a little scrap-ball companion, and a custom--where did you get that Servitor?” the tickled tone in her voice vanished, now glaring at the three in confusion.

“What? The Road Hog?” Jmasen taunted, a gigantic smile devouring his face.

“What do you think you’re _doing_?!” Ghost frantically whispered, but it was too late.

“Tell me your name, Vandal,” she demanded, “Not gonna ask again.”

“He’s the Garbage Rat!” an ancient Captain yelled from behind them, “I’m sure of it!”

“Yes, your prodigal son has returned,” Jmasen snarled overdramatically.

“Well dilute my ether--I thought you were killed almost a century ago. Turns out cockroaches are a little harder to stomp out than we thought. You’re not my war, Rat--but your head will be my prize,” the Queen said, unsheathing a massive blade as her subjects flooded the room.

“I know you think you can’t die,” Ghost started, “But with this many Eliksni--if I get destroyed, neither of us is going to be here much longer.”

“No need to worry, Ghostie, I’ve got this all under control,” Jmasen assured them, “Road Hog! Let’s hook ‘em and cook ‘em!” Just then, a group of Dregs started shuffling forwards, blades and guns at the ready. The Servator rumbled, and Ghost watched as the Dregs’ physical bodies flickered, and they reappeared directly in front of the Road Hog. Before they had time to react, Jmasen fired two shots into the middle, killing all of them in the blink of an eye.

“What are you waiting for, you bastards?” the Queen screeched, “ _Everyone!_ _Get them!_ ”

“Ghostie! The mines?” Jmasen demanded, and as quick as they could, Ghost transmitted two mines into the Vandal’s hands. He tossed one at a group of Marauders, easily sending them reeling back, then threw one a few feet ahead of himself. It landed with a thud.

“You missed! How could you miss?!” Ghost yelled, ducking from the bursts of lasers coming out of the Road Hog.

“Wasn’t aiming for them, mate!” he yelled back before letting out a manic chuckle and running straight ahead towards the mine. Unbelievably, as he jumped overtop of it, he clicked the detonator in his hands--sending him over the Kell and into the next room.

“Jmason!” Ghost yelled, immediately searching for his life signature.

“Keep up you two! We’re almost there!” he screamed back as he ran further into the den.

 

They could still hear the House’s wailing behind them as Ghost and the Road Hog teleported to be next to their leader, still booking it towards their goal.

“And to think--I had wondered how you had lost your other arms,” Ghost joked as they all went sailing through the hallway.

“Yeah, took a bit of trial and error, but if you hit it _just right_ : it’s aces,” Jmasen replied proudly, dodging a beam near his head.

“How much farther?” the Road Hog asked, still shooting behind them.

“Well, according to the radar that’s somehow in the corner of me eye,” Jmasen started, blinking unusually, “Should be less than a click away--looks like it’s right inside the throne room!”

“Oh perfect,” Ghost sighed.

“Get back here, you wankers!” the Queen roared behind them, moving surprisingly fast for her massive size through the winding corridor. Finally, the team reached their destination, and could see a ship hanging from the ceiling--decorated in gold, with a gigantic chair sitting on top of it.

“Great. The ship _is_ the throne,” Ghost groaned.

“Ghostie! Steel trap, pronto!” Jmasen called out, crouched near the doorway and holding out his hands anxiously. Ghost quickly complied, and before they could blink, the trap was armed and ready right at the throne room’s entrance. Jmasen scrambled up from the dirt and hopped on top of the ship, shaking impatiently.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon! I hate waiting!” he called out to the Ghost.

“Get _inside the ship_ , you goober,” Ghost yelled back, prepping the ship for takeoff. Some of the faster members of the house started swarming the entrance, but the Road Hog teleported a massive ball of scrap and sent it exploding outwards, taking out everyone in range before they could reach the door. Suddenly, the Kell’s massive frame blocked the entrance, and laughing quietly to herself she started to walk into the room.

However, she wasn’t expecting the steel trap.

It’s jaws clamped down on her ankle, and she let out an agonizing howl of pain. She struggled to drag it into the room with her, but it was magnetized to the floor, not going anywhere.

“I understand--the stories--your wretched legacy,” she seethed through her teeth, panting heavily and pulling out a scorch cannon.

“You hear that Road Hog? We got stories!” Jmasen said, very pleased, as he disappeared inside the ship. After firing one last shot, the Road Hog’s physical form dissipated as well, transporting inside the ship.

“You are worse than the rotting garbage that you crawled from!” she yelled, firing a shot out of the cannon. The brunt of the explosion hit the top of the ship, but the engines were whirring, and they began to hover.

“You think you can hide with the Slaggers forever, Garbage Rat?!” she spat out before firing another shot. This one only took out the chair on the top, and the engine revved to it’s full life. As they lifted off the ground, Ghost breathed a huge sigh of relief, watching the wall of the Cosmodrome fade away as they sped towards the Last City.


	4. Chapter 4

“Oh my _goodness_! I can’t believe that worked!” Ghost said excitedly, “I thought we were goners--you didn’t even die once!”

“Can’t kill me, mate!” Jmasen beamed.

“Well--technically--someone _did_ manage to kill you once,” Ghost reminded him, “But then I resurrected you.” Jmasen just ignored them.

“Where are we going?” the Road Hog asked, lodged behind the passenger seat.

“Right, we’re going to the city, where the Vanguard’s going to meet--you two. Oh boy,” Ghost sighed.

“Well you said that we were gonna talk to Christmas or whoever, then we’ll have our own little space, and we can explain the situation,” he said, leaning back in his chair.

“Right, right. ‘The situation’?” Ghost asked.

“Yeah. I’m flattered about the whole ‘Guardian’ thing, but it’s not going to work out! I’m gonna take you and the Hog on the road, and the Lifters’ll stay out of my way!”

“I don’t think that’s the situation at all, Jmasen.”

“Why, you think I’m gonna join your all’s House? Look--if I couldn’t make it in a House filled with blokes that were kicked out of other houses, I doubt me, an Eliksni, is gonna play well with the big band of Lifters that smoke people like me out without a second thought. Half the time it seems like they’re shooting at us just for shits and giggles...”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Ghost lied, “Look, at the very least--we need to get you connected with the Vanguard. Knowing there are Eliksni out there like you might change humanity’s whole perspective on you all. Besides, we need to get you more armor than just a pair of pants.”

“Suppose that’ll be right,” he sighed, letting the ship fly to the Last City.

“I hope you’ll stay with the Guardians, they’re all a little like you, you know,” Ghost offered.

“Yeah? In what way?”

“They’re all a little--different.”

 

“Amanda Holiday at the Tower Hanger; please state your name, business, and be ready to present the necessary paperwork for that undocumented ship of yours,” a voice said over the ship’s coms.

“I’ll handle this,” Ghost assured, “Hello Holiday; this is a new Guardian, Ghost, and--passenger. We’re here to check in with the Vanguard.”

“Well lookie here! Sorry I didn’t recognize your energy signal at first, y’all are in the system and ready to transmat onto the tower’s welcome pad. Welcome aboard you two.”

“Um, this is a bit of a big request, but we need a private area to transmat onto the tower--with Zavala, Ikora, and Cayde-6 ready to meet us there,” Ghost said sheepishly.

“Hoo boy, that is a big request--’specially for a new Guardian--I’ll see what I can do. Is it about that passenger of yours?” Amanda asked.

“More or less,” Ghost said.

“Why won’t you let me talk? I’m sick of all this waiting!” Jmasen whined.

“Was that--Fallen chatter?” Amanda asked hesitantly.

“L-look, there’s not a whole lot that I can say right now. I have a feeling that the Vanguard are going to want to keep this, under wraps, for as long as possible.”

“Fine. I’ll get Zavala on the line while y’all can transport into the Bravo room while you wait. Without a lot to go on, though, it’s gonna be tough to gettum interested,” she sighed as the group could hear her shuffling a pile of papers.

“We appreciate this, Holiday. We promise this is worth their time,” Ghost tried to assure her before hanging up, “Oh boy, here we go.”

“Don’t see why you’re so worked up, I thought the Guardians were protectors of humanity, aren’t I included?” Jmasen teased.

“Oh shut up, you.”

 

The group transported themselves in what looked like a large conference room, and Jmasen flung himself onto the table to get comfortable while the Road Hog scooted to the corner of the room.

“Guardian? This is Zavala. I appreciate your spirit, but we don’t take Fallen prisoners; we either shoot them on site or leave them to their business--understand?” Zavala said over the communicators suddenly. Jmasen just flashed a smug smile at his Ghost.

“Oooh, shining tip of humanity, there,” he grinned.

“It’s not a prisoner, sir, it’s--” Ghost started.

“And we do not utilize Fallen informants, much less bring them to the City. I understand that you’re new, but the Fallen are _not_ to be trusted--” he began.

“The new Guardian _is_ a Fallen, sir,” Ghost spat out. There was a long break of silence.

“Should--I get off this line?” Amanda asked over the speaker.

“No need. We will meet you in person shortly,” Zavala said flatly, “Signing off.” The Ghost disconnected and stared nervously down at the floor.

“You ready for a resurrection, Ghostie?” Jmasen asked, smiling.

“They’re not going to kill you, just--nothing like this has ever happened before,” Ghost sighed.

“Nothing that you know about. Bet they chase blokes like us away pretty quickly by the sounds of that dickhead there.”

“It’ll be fine. I’m sure it’ll be fine--wait, you can understand Common?”

“Sure, not like I don’t hear it enough.”

“Can you speak it? I’m sure that we’d get a lot of sympathy if--” Ghost started, but was cut off by Jmasen’s laughter.

“Sure I could talk to them, if I wanted to sound like a dil,” Jmasen started, before clearing his throat and switching to Common in a hoarse hiss, “I could talk like this, yes? Be the friendly Vandal--they must trust the friendly Vandal, Ghost. Guardians working with the Rat of Garbage, yesssss--”

“You’re right, I’ll do all the talking,” Ghost said quickly, hearing a group’s footsteps coming down the hallway. The door opened, revealing Zavala, Ikora, and Cayde-6.

“Right, where is the new Guardian?” Zavala asked, stepping into the room first. Seeing the Vandal and the Servator, his face was a mix of confusion, uncertainty, and slight disappointment.

“G’day!” Jmasen said with a wink, laying down twiddling his fingers, once again speaking in the Fallen tongue. If his Ghost had to guess, he was just doing this to be annoying at this point. Cayde-6 was laughing too hard to get into the room.

“Cayde, at least try to be professional,” Ikora said coldly, more disappointed in her coworker than in the situation.

“I must apologize, Guardian, for my comments. We’ve had an excessively difficult relationship with the Fallen before, and as a rule we don’t trust informants, especially on the judgement of a new Guardian. However--this is completely different. I would like to personally welcome you to the Vanguard,” Zavala said, outstretching his hand to shake Jmasen’s. Jmasen was somewhat taken aback, not ever expecting this sort of welcome, and sat up straight on the table to take the Titan’s hand and copy an Earthling handshake as best as he could.

“I am Zavala. The Warlock near the door is Ikora Rey, and the very--jolly--Hunter is Cayde-6,” he continued, motioning to each of his colleagues.

“Don’t know what that means, but sounds aces!” Jmasen said warmly, finishing the handshake, then holding out his hand to Ikora. She gave a very short, polite shake, and then he held out his hand towards Cayde-6.

“Hoohoohoo, don’t mind if I do,” he said, still finishing up laughing and walking towards Jmasen, “You don’t mind if I take a picture do you?” Cayde-6’s Ghost twirled around to face the pair and set off a flash. The two were giving off big smiles.

“Cayde! Well, this is an excellent segway to our next biggest problem: how public do we make this?” Ikora asked the room.

“I think it is imperative that his fellow Guardians know who he is. This is a momentous occasion, we can either have a broadcast or a ceremony to commemorate the first Fallen Guardian,” Zavala said confidently.

“Eliksni,” Ghost tried to casually correct.

“As important and game-changing as this is, I disagree,” Ikora began, “Having a Fallen Guardian changes everything. Our city’s never been divided, and with the current Vex threat we quite frankly don’t have time to approach the kind of questions that this Guardian brings up.”

“Eliksni, not Fallen,” Ghost corrected again.

“So what do you suggest, Ikora? Leave him to fend for himself? That is not the Vanguard’s way! This Guardian needs leadership! Guidance! Maybe more than any other Guardian has ever needed,” Zavala continued.

“Maybe so, but the City doesn’t have luxury of contemplating Fallen-Humanity politics right now. This Guardian could divide the city, and we cannot afford that,” Ikora said back, a slight pain in her voice.

“You know, I’ve never seen one of you guys up this close before,” Cayde-6 started, leering at Jmasen, “Well, never _alive_ , but you boys know how it is. Are you a boy? Guess I should've asked. Wow these horns are impressive...” He put his hand on one of Jmasen’s horns as he talked.

“Well! Don’t mind me, mate,” Jmasen grumbled as Cayde-6 continued to poke and prod him while the other two leaders continued debating in front of him.

“Yes, he’s male. His name is Jmasen,” Ghost offered to Cayde-6.

“‘J-ma-sen’, you all always have the strangest names. I love it.”

“Yeah as if ‘Cayde-6’ is a normal thing to call someone,” Jmasen grumbled.

“What’s he sayin’? Does he want me to stop touching his ears?” Cayde-6 asked.

“I think he’d probably appreciate that, yes,” Ghost replied.

“Yeah I getcha. I can’t stand it when non-Exos used to run up to me and try and put their fingers through my cheeks to see what would happen,” he sighed, starting to get up, “Oh! Can we take another picture? Let me put my head in your mouth so it looks like you’re eating me--”

“--Cayde! Would you like to add anything intelligent to the discussion?” Ikora snapped crossly, “What do we do about our new--Guardian?”

“I dunno, why don’t we put him with Overwatch?” he offered. The group went quiet, mulling over this new possibility.

“Overwatch? What’s Overwatch?” Jmasen asked.

“What exactly _is_ Overwatch?” Ghost asked, translating for his Hunter.

“Overwatch--well, Overwatch is an elite clan of a special collection of unique Guardians that we use for more covert missions. Recently, it’s been relaunched; it used to be one of the most prestigious fireteams in the whole Vanguard.”

“Yeah and now it’s where we put the people that we don’t know what to do with--” Cayde-6 said before getting elbowed in the ribs by Ikora.

“What do you think Guardian? You’ll be able to enjoy the advantages of living within the City, while going on as many missions as you feel comfortable,” Zavala offered, “No one will know you exist, other than your fellow members of Overwatch.” Jmasen thought it over for a minute.

“Can I keep Road Hog?” he asked.

“Would he be able to keep his Servator?” Ghost asked.

“Of course. I assumed that it was vital to him for ether production,” Zavala responded.

“By the way, does that thing have a little piggy drawn on the front of it?” Cayde-6 asked, getting a little closer. Jmasen nodded his head excitedly and Cayde-6 expressed his delight.

“What do you say, will you do it?” Ikora asked.

“You would be free to leave at any time,” Zavala added, “The Vanguard would be honored to have you aboard.”

“Eh, what the hell--I’ll try it out,” Jmasen shrugged.

“He’ll do it!” Ghost translated excitedly, and Zavala smiled.

“Perfect. Now--it’s time for you to meet the rest of Overwatch.”


	5. Chapter 5

After a few more pictures with Cayde-6, the Vanguard left the trio in the Bravo room to make the necessary arrangements to make Jmasen a part of Overwatch.

“So have you ever heard of this Overwatch business before?” Jmasen asked, sliding off the table.

“I can’t say that I have, though I wasn’t around the City very much,” Ghost admitted, “Although, if it is a covert fireteam, I suppose that I wouldn’t have heard much about them to begin with.”

“Makes sense,” Jmasen said, starting to disassemble one of the office chairs.

“What do you think about all this, are you excited?” Ghost asked, and Jmasen shrugged as he threw some screws onto the ground.

“Eh, not sure. Never worked with Lifters before, but I’m glad I’m not going to have a ceremony or anything; based on how that Robot was handlin’ me I don’t think I need anymore curious Lifters pokin’ and prodding at my bits.”

“Technically Cayde’s not a robot, he’s an Exo,” Ghost corrected.

“Well ooh la la,” Jmasen grumbled, pulling off the chairs arm. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

“Guardian, if you’d like to come with me, they’re ready for you,” Zavala said, and the three got up, “If you would all transport with me to these coordinates, we’ll get there much faster and much more securely.” Ghost took in the coordinates, and all of them disappeared.

 

 

When they were all securely transported, they could see they were on another smaller watchtower, a few miles away from where they previously were. An older human Titan was there to meet them--standing at attention, looking tired but extremely focused.

“Guardian--this is Jack Morrison, current head of Overwatch,” Zavala introduced.

“You didn’t tell me there were two of them, Zavala,” Jack said in a gruff voice, turning his helmet towards the Road Hog.

“Simply a Servator for our Guardian’s ether consumption, it shouldn’t give you any trouble. Thank you for seeing us all so soon,” Zavala said.

“Of course. Anything for the Vanguard.”

“Well, I’ll let you all meet with the rest of your team,” Zavala said, smiling, “We’re proud to have you with us, Guardian.” With that, Zavala’s body disappeared, back off towards the Tower.

“Let’s go,” Jack said, motioning them inside, “I’ve already told everyone you were coming, so you shouldn’t catch anyone off guard.” As they walked inside, the place almost seemed abandoned--as if Overwatch was still fighting against it’s own collapse.

“Do you know what Overwatch is, Guardian?” Jack asked.

“All we know is it’s a very special clan of people,” Ghost offered.

“Overwatch is used for any missions that the Vanguard can’t officially have any of its Guardians go on. Almost everyone inside doesn’t technically exist; they call on us when they’re too afraid of other Guardians in the tower knowing about threats that may or may not be catastrophic, but they don’t want a panic.”

“Interesting,” Ghost said.

“Also, not everyone is here today, but you’ll be able to meet most of the team that isn't currently on a mission,” he continued, and Ghost nodded.

They finally reached a very nice looking room filled with a wide array of interesting individuals. Some gave Jmasen a wave as he walked in, but most stayed were they were uncomfortably, staring as they he walked in.

“Well don’t all of you welcome me at once,” Jmasen mumbled to his Ghost, who promptly shushed him.

“Go ahead and take a seat, your Servator can rest behind you,” Jack said, then turned to the rest of the group, “Alright everyone, this is our newest Guardian--a Hunter--and I expect him to be given the same attention and respect as everyone else.”

“A low bar, then,” an awoken near the end of the table said snidely. Jack seemed to ignore her.

“Do you speak, soldier?” he asked, looking back at Jmasen.

“I can--translate for him, sir,” Ghost said, looking down at Jmasen giving a coy smile.

“Alright. Introduce yourself, and then we’ll have everyone else around the table introduce themselves after you,” Jack said. Everyone else groaned, but Jack cleared his throat forcefully and people started to quiet down.

“Well, my name’s Jmasen, though I suppose you’ll all just call me ‘Fallen’ and not bother to remember anything else about me,” he started, “I enjoy getting shot at by Lifters like you, getting my supplies stolen by your Capes, and if you touch me horns without asking, I’ll blow your nips clean off.” He smiled before he looked up at his Ghost, ready for the translation.

“His name is Jmasen,” Ghost started cautiously, shooting him a dirty look,  “He prefers people to use ‘Eliksni” instead of ‘Fallen’, and--he’s very good at creating traps and using explosives.”

“That is _not_ what he just said,” a Warlock interjected, trying to hide a smile with one of her hands. However, everyone else seemed pretty unaware of the difference in translation, and Jmasen’s Ghost relaxed.

“Well, Olivia, it seems as though you’d enjoy introducing yourself next,” Jack said, still standing at the head of the table. The Warlock flipped her hair to the side and sighed.

“You can call me Sombra. I’m a Stormcaller, and I’m here because I’m too useful to kick out, and I’m to dangerous to not have under their thumb,” she said with a smirk, leaning back in her chair.

“She had hacked into other Guardian’s vaults, stealing billions of glimmers worth of equipment and reducing it to it’s materials, not to mention hacking into and tracking other Guardians’ Ghosts in order to sell their information. Also, if I remember correctly, you volunteered to work for us, ‘Sombra’,” Jack said sourly. Sombra just shrugged.

“I’ll go next,” a Hunter next to her offered, “Hi! You can call me Tracer, or Lena, and I’m a part of Overwatch because I was actually a part of the original Overwatch, but for the past--while--I was stuck in a Vex time loop and only recently got out. It’s not as bad as it sounds, really, but on the bright side, I’ve got this bang-up dodging ability from being exposed to--”

“That’s enough, Lena. Thank you for going next. Amélie, your turn,” Jack said, turning to the awoken near him. She smiled and slowly sat up in her seat.

“Hello, I am Amélie Lacroix, also known under the name Widowmaker from over thirty successful assassination attempts, and zero failures. I worked for the Queen of the Awoken, but after being caught by someone--” she said, glaring at Lena, “--I changed my ways for a plea bargain. I’m here to work for Overwatch until the day I die, or otherwise have my Ghost unceremoniously destroyed.”

“Though she comes off hostile, Amélie has been exceptionally compliant and a gigantic asset to the Overwatch team,” Jack said, “She’s also one of the best Nightstalkers that I’ve ever seen.” Amélie rolled her eyes, but Ghost could catch a small smile on her face.

“Um, I can go next,” a Ghost next to Amélie said. Jmasen had assumed that it was the awoken’s Ghost, but apparently not.

“Though you can call me Ghost, some people call me Mei so it’s less confusing,” she started again, “I lost my Guardian and their fireteam after, well after an encounter with the Vex. I was--unable to resurrect them, but I was ok. Since I couldn’t help my Guardian anymore, I joined the first Overwatch to help them collect and sort data, and I was very happy when Overwatch started again.”

“Thank you, Mei. We appreciate all the valuable work you’ve been able to do for the city,” Jack said, before turning to a white exo at the other end of the table, “Genji? Care to go next?”

“I am Genji-1, and I am a Bladedancer,” he said flatly. And that was it.

“That’s it?” Jmasen asked.

“That’s it,” Genji-1’s Ghost said.

“Sorry, he’s not a very talkative man,” the woman beside him said, holding his hand, “I can introduce myself. My name is Angela, and I am a Sunsinger Warlock. Though my story’s not very exciting, I have been working with Overwatch since it’s revival.”

“--And that’s everyone that’s here for today,” Jack said again, “I’ll see you all bright and early tomorrow for our next meeting.” Everyone got up, and shuffled off in their own directions, but Tracer came over to Jmasen.

“Just wanted to introduce myself proper,” she said, holding out her hand. Jmasen was surprised, again, but gladly took it.

“It’s been a pretty weird day for us,” Ghost said tiredly.

“Oh I couldn’t even imagine!” Tracer said, “But don’t worry, I feel like you'll feel a lot more welcome when you meet Winston.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Alright, this should be an easy one, perfect for you to get into the field and get closer to your fireteam,” Jack said, flipping through something on his Ghost. It had been a few days, but here the trio was again, this time ready to see what it was like to be a real Guardian. Jmasen’s Ghost wasn’t able to make much progress on armor. However, they were able to don a Hunter’s cloak, which Jmason seemed very proud of. There was also another piece of chest armor that Jmasen constructed himself, but were very vehement that Ghost didn’t scan it.

“It should be a surprise, mate,” he said when he first put it on, but Ghost was absolutely perplexed. Sure, they weren’t unsure why it needed to be a secret piece of armor, but more importantly it barely protected the majority of Jmasen’s body--only draping over the top half of his chest.

This was what Ghost’s mind was working on while Jack continued over the details of the current mission.

“We’ll have Tracer, Sombra, and you. Two Hunters and our craftiest Warlock--perfect for a stealth mission into enemy territory. You’ll be visiting earth’s moon, grabbing data on a Hive ritual that we think may be happening soon, but there’s no way to know until we get that data found on a crystal deep inside a Hive nest. It’ll be dangerous, but based on current intel, where the crystal is being kept is a currently dormant Hive chamber. They haven’t used it in years. Any questions?” Jack asked, looking at the group before him.

“So just get in, scan the thing, then get out? Easy,” Sombra said confidently, looking at her gloved hand.

“I hope you’ll all take this seriously; the information we could be getting on the teleportation and summoning power of this crystal is extremely important,” Jack said sourly.

“Should we bring Mei with us?” Tracer asked, holding her helmet in her lap.

“Each of your Ghosts should have the processing power to get everything we require. If the need arises, Mei can connect any loose ends back here. Understood? Any other questions?” Jack asked. Jmasen felt as though he had questions, but really couldn’t articulate them. Fireteams? Scanning crystals? Hunters and Warlocks? This all sounded batty.

Jack dismissed the fireteam, and they got ready to get on their ships towards the moon. Just as Jmasen and his crew were about to leave, Tracer came up to ask them a question.

“Do you mind if I have my Ghost auto translate you, Jmasen? It just seems like it’d be faster than waiting for your’s to do it for you.” Ghost tried to stop them and say no, but it was too late--Jmasen had already flashed a triple thumbs-up and Tracer smiled in return.

“We should get going--see you on the moon, luvs!” she said, waving goodbye as she ran out the door. Ghost looked back down at his Hunter.

“I feel like having an intermediary in your conversations with the ‘Lifters’ may have been a good thing,” it said, concerned.

“Bah, you worry too much. What are they going to do, shoot me? Right,” he joked, getting up towards his own ship.

 

 

It was a quick hop to the moon, and the three Guardians' ships dropped them off perfectly in sync. Sombra motioned for them to run forward, and they all diligently followed. It wasn’t too long before they heard gunfire ahead.

“My goodness--well isn’t this a mess,” Ghost lamented, staring down into the canyon ahead of them. A gigantic swath of Hive and Eliksni were fighting each other, clashing in a torrential mess of bodies against bodies.

“No way forward but through,” Sombra said flatly, “C’mon, let’s clear them out.” She was more than ready, but Tracer seemed hesitant.

“Wait, but that means we’ll be shooting Fal--Eliksni. Jmasen, are you alright with this?” she asked. However, as Tracer looked over, Jmasen was already hurling mines and grenades into the pit.

“Ahaha! Take that you dipstick!” he screamed, laughing maniacally, seeming to have not even heard Tracer’s question. His Ghost just looked over at her with sympathy.

“Guess that takes care of that then,” she sighed, sliding into the canyon with her two sidearms. As Jmasen and the Road Hog stayed at the top of the canyon, with Sombra hanging near the sides and taking some out at medium range,Tracer was in the middle of the action. She ran from enemy to enemy with the confidence of a Titan, quickly dodging out of the way faster than the blink of an eye. When she was in real danger, she seemed to move backwards in time, slipping away in a whitish-blue streak that no one else could replicate.

It wasn’t long before the fireteam cleared out the warzone, with the remainder of the Eliksni and Hive retreating back to their dens. All of them regrouped, sharing high fives and smiles underneath their helmets.

“That was too right!” Jmasen said excitedly, looking over at Tracer, “I’ve never seen no one move like that before! How in blazes were you able to do something like that?”

“Well, it’s sort of a side-effect of being trapped in the Vex time prison so long. No one’s really sure why it happens, but I suppose it sure comes in handy,” she said, bashfully.

“Well I gotta find me a way to get trapped in one of those,” Jmasen said.

“Haha, yeah,” she started, feeling a little awkward, “Actually, if you don’t mind, it all happened pretty recent, and I’m not really in a place where I can joke about it yet.”

“You may be not, but I am,” Jmasen said brashly, before getting hit in the back by the Road Hog, knocking him over.

“I’m--so sorry for my Hunter,” Ghost apologized, looking back at Tracer.

“I dunno, I like him,” Sombra said with a smirk. With that, it was time for them to continue forward. They found the entrance to the abandoned Hive fortress, and although it was guarded by two knights, once they got inside the whole thing was completely abandoned. They walked in near-silence in the gigantic insectoid halls.

“The Hive, ugh, creepy little fuckers aren’t they,” Jmasen shuddered, kicking a large husk of--something--out of the way as he continued, “None of me mates were ever thick enough to go poking around _inside_ one of these--things...”

“You gotta wonder how they got here,” Sombra pondered, “Apparently they weren’t always like this, but then they got addicted to these parasites that they feed inside their body--”

“I heard they were all undead--keeping themselves alive only through their dark magic,” Tracer said, a chill in her voice.

“The other Eliksni had always said they were dead Lifters--cursed to walk the universe like a shambling freckle forever as punishment for stealing our Light,” Jmasen added.

“You keep using the word ‘Lifter’, what is that?” Tracer asked, genuinely curious.

“Well--” Jmasen started.

“--It’s nothing. Trust me, it’s not worth asking,” his Ghost interrupted. The fireteam continued in silence once again. After a minute, Jmasen could feel his Ghost scanning him again.

“Buzz off, ya drongo,” he said, shooing his Ghost away.

“Why won’t you let me know what you have on your body?” Ghost asked, still trying to scan while Jmasen’s hand blocked their eye.

“Stop it! I promise it’s nothin’ dangerous, s’just that I know if _you know_ what it is, you’re gonna get all sour and tell me not to wear it,” he said crossly, giving a final shove to his Ghost.

“We need to establish a base of trust, Jmasen--” Ghost started.

“Exactly. You just gotta trust me,” he replied self-righteously.

“Jmasen, if it’s--” Ghost started.

“--Leave it be,” the Road Hog said bluntly, and Ghost shook a little before backing off. Whatever it was, they supposed it at least acted as rudimentary armor, which is better than it was able to do. Finally, they all came upon the gigantic Hive artifact that they’d been searching for.

“Hooley dooley, now that’s a crystal,” Jmasen admired, lowering his gun to get a closer look.

“Wait! Don’t touch it!” Tracer called out, “We’re just supposed to scan it and go, remember? We don’t know what it does!”

“What’s the worst that could happen,” Jmasen rudely teased, stepping away from the crystal.

“I’ve got this one,” Sombra said, holding up her Ghost for the scan. The fireteam watched as the device danced around the massive artifact.

“ _It’s just eight bombs?_ ” Jmasen’s Ghost suddenly yelled out. He twirled around to see his Ghost in the middle of a scan of himself.

“Hey! What’d we say about trust?” he demanded, crossing his arms in a pout.

“What’s eight bombs?” Tracer asked, confused.

“Fuckin hell--guys! Quiet down? Do you want the Hive nest _next to us_ to hear you?” Sombra shushed, but no one seemed to be listening.

“ _Why would you strap eight live bombs to your chest?_ ” Ghost demanded, floating away from his Hunter.

“First off--the lack of respect in our relationship is really getting me down,” Junkrat started, “ _Secondly_ \--the bombs are really only live once I’m not. It’s a posthumus security measure! Been wearin’ one of these bad boys since I split off from my last house. And _that’s_ why no one messes with _Jmasen: Rat of Garbage_!”

“You’ve got live bombs on you?” Tracer asked, horrified.

“Your name was Rat of Garbage?” Sombra asked.

"Well that explains why your body was so mangled when I found you" Ghost said bitterly.

“Calm down! You’re all taking this way too seriously,” Jmasen said flippantly, “You all can’t die anyways, right?”

“Now Jmasen,” Tracer said calmly, walking towards him, “We’re just going to take that vest off, yeah? _Just_ in case something goes wrong during a mission, and one of those mines flies up and does something to one of our Ghosts--”

“They’re not gonna fly up, they’re heavy!” he yelled, backing away from her, “And how else is killing me going to be one final threat? How else will I give them one last prezzy? How will they know not to mess with _Jmasen! Rat of Garbage!_ ”

“You keep saying that like it’s threatening...” Sombra said quizzically, standing near her Ghost, nearly done with the scan.

“I’m sure you’re going to be well known, luv, but we’re Guardians! Our enemies already know not to trifle with us!” Tracer said, still going towards him.

“Guys, wait--” Sombra yelled, but her fireteam wasn’t listening.

“It’s about legacy!” Jmasen yelled, turning his heels to dart away, but there was a flash of light and suddenly Tracer slammed into him, wrestling to get the chest piece off. However, this knocked them both off-balance, and both slamming into the towering Hive crystal. Everyone froze, but the artifact was already misaligned. In horror and unable to stop it, the team watched the crystal fall to the jagged, rocky floor of the nest. It shattered upon impact, shaking the entire tunnel.

 

In the distance, they could hear the wail of a Wizard. They heard a lot of wailing. _They heard it getting closer._

 

The fireteam stood still in shock, all except for Jmasen.

“See? This is what happens when we don’t have mutual trust.”


End file.
